Transcript Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Reading Rhetorically:
The Writer as Strong Reader
About Reading Rhetorically
What Makes College-Level
Reading Difficult
Vocabulary
Unfamiliar Rhetorical Context
Unfamiliar Genre
Lack of Background Knowledge
Reading Processes Used by
Experienced Readers
Varying Strategies to Match Reading Goals
Vary Strategies to Match Genre
Adopting a Multidraft Reading Process
Improving Your Reading Process
Slow down or speed up, depending on your
goals.
Reconstruct the rhetorical context.
Join the text’s conversation by exploring
your views on the issues before reading.
Lose your highlighter; find your pen.
Get in the dictionary habit.
Improving Your Reading Process
Recognize when lack of background
information is the source of your difficulty.
Try “translating” difficult passages.
Read both with and against the grain.
Continue the conversation after you read.
Writing a Summary
On the first read, look for general meaning.
On the second read, write “gist statements”
in the margins, summarizing each
paragraph’s main point.
Writing a Strong Response
Write out questions triggered by the text.
Identify hot spots in the text.
Articulate how you differ from the intended
audience.
Articulate your own purpose for reading.
Ask generic strategic questions.
Consider the purpose of your response.
Summarizing Open-Form Prose
The summary is less likely to parallel the
organization of the original article.
Open-form pieces require you to create the
meaning of what you read.
Use your own interpretive powers to create
the unstated main points.